I've had some generally good experiences with LEDs as well. The only places that I've had somewhat higher failure rates for LEDs were places where I wanted a lot of light but the existing fixture had the bulbs trapped deep inside an enclosed fixture. I ended up buying a different brand than I normally do since it seemed the bulbs I had been going with just couldn't survive that hotbox, but since trying another brand the bulbs have lasted a couple of years so far.

Otherwise, for probably at least 40 or so bulbs swapped for LEDs over the years, I've experienced maybe 4 or 5 failures. The vast majority of my bulbs have been Feit and GE. I never buy smart bulbs. My best experiences have usually been to just buy LED fixtures though, I replaced a lot of my flush mount ceiling fixtures and ceiling fans for ones with integrated LEDs and have not had a single failure so far after a few years, knock on wood.

I had some problems with my old dimmer switches, but upgrading dimmers to newer ones which advertised good LED dimming and ensuring I had bulbs which stated dimming compatibility it eliminated my noise and flicker issues. There's a recent standard out there, NEMA SSL 7A, which seeks to ensure good compatibility. I set my dimmers to this SSL 7A mode and I've had no problems since.

https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/asset/documen...

I wish I could say that. I have a 3 year old house that is about 3k square feet wiht alot of bulbs. Every bulb installed was LED and I have replaced most of them at this point, and some more then once. I have even had the electrical company come out thinking there was something wrong with the power in my house or the breaker box. Nothing...

It usually comes down to the brand, factors you can't be aware of like component choice, and the light fixture itself. A lot of LED edison socket lights die quickly in recessed lighting or other tight fixtures because the heat is death to them. Manufacturers build the worst technically functional capacitors into the power supplies with a low temperature rating, meaning they really can't handle anything above ambient.

This is also the same industry and the same players that were perfectly fine with agreeing to not improve incandescent light past 1000 lifetime hours, illegally. I have no doubt that there is a tacit agreement not to make good lighting, as that would extremely disrupt the industry.

Lightbulbs are a bad form factor. I have some lights without bulbs and no issue. Meanwhile the halogen emulating LEDs break all the time.

Exactly. Luckily halogens were commonly installed in pots. So for longevity, replace the pot rather than the bulb.

I'm repeating myself a lot in this thread, so I'm sorry. What fixtures are the bulbs in? Are they a generic design meant for incandescents? A huge number of fixtures out there don't allow for enough heat to convect away and the bulbs overheat.

“New bulbs came out, everybody replace all your light fixtures.”

No. I like the fixtures I have, and I have no desire to throw them in the landfill so that I can be “environmentally friendly.”

My experience has fallen into two categories:

* bulbs with the UK-standard bayonet fitting in light sockets that are suspended from cables from the ceiling with lampshades -- these I don't think I've ever had fail on me yet

* 4.6W bulbs with a GU10 fitting in recessed spotlights -- these fail on me more frequently (perhaps every few years to every five years)

My assumption is that this is all down to the spotlight-fitting bulbs being in a confined space and getting a lot hotter. I use Philips bulbs in both cases.

I think there might be something about the wiring in some homes. Some of my LED bulbs have been going for a decade now without issues. I have a few fixtures where bulbs keep hauling in specific sockets after a few months. I have one fixture in my bathroom where a bulb was fine for a few months and then two replacement bulbs failed instantly and three third one failed again after a year or so. Maybe the voltage is wrong and keeps breaking the power supply?

It could be sensitive power circuitry failing due to power quality, but is more likely a heat buildup. LEDs bulbs fail rapidly without good convective cooling ability, particularly in locations where you have the bulb on for great lengths of time.

My understanding is that the quality of LED bulbs has been going down over time. In other words, newer bulbs are less likely to stand the test of time than older bulbs.

Similarly, I started buying Philips Hue bulbs back around 2015 and none of those have failed in the time since, even being used every night since then.

They're all in freestanding floor lamps installed in a horizontal orientation, which might have something to do with it. That seems like it'd dissipate heat a lot better than e.g. a pot light housing in the ceiling.

+1 for hue colour/white adjustable ones

They produce great light at the temperature you want and I’ve yet to have one fail after nearly 10 years using them.

Not cheap, but given I’ve never had to replace one maybe in the end they are

They were expensive pre-covid, but since covid they have become completely unhinged.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Hue-Bluetooth-compatible-Assi...

$45 a bulb! That's probably >$2000 to replace a house's worth.

The white, color-temp only ones are about half the price, which is better, but still not cheap:

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Ambiance-Hue-Equivalent-Assis...

I am in the same boat, but they do tend to become significantly dimmer over time.